1. Technical Field
Aspects of this document relate generally to powering and controlling traffic preemption systems.
2. Background Art
At roadway traffic intersections, the amount of electronic equipment has grown substantially over the years. Besides the traffic lights themselves, it is common to see such equipment as all types of traffic measurement devices, cameras, communications equipment, pedestrian safety indicators and controls, emergency phones, and other emergency equipment such as traffic preemption systems, to name a few.
All of these systems require power and a method of communication to enable their operation. By far the most common way to accomplish this is to run wires from any such equipment to a traffic intersection control module that is commonly designed to provide environmental protection, power, communications, and secure access to equipment located inside.
It is very common to add such equipment to traffic intersections after the traffic light is already installed and this process usually requires running or installing additional wires for power and communication. The installation of wires at intersections can be time consuming and very costly, and in many cases is the largest cost of the system. Because of the high cost of labor and installation of additional wires, many improvements to traffic-related simply are not affordable for local municipalities to undertake.
Thus, a need exists for a system and method to limit or in some cases eliminate the necessity of installing an excessive number of wires and/or cables in both new and existing intersection locations.